Burger to Head Commission on Undergrad
Education

Paula Burger, vice provost for academic affairs and
international programs, has been named chair of the
Commission on Undergraduate Education, the now two-month-old
committee charged with assessing and enhancing the entire
undergraduate experience at Johns Hopkins.

She replaces Ralph Kuncl, who in June will become
provost and professor of biology at Bryn Mawr College and
adjunct professor of neurology at the University of
Pennsylvania School of Medicine.

Paula Burger

Kuncl, vice provost for undergraduate education,
championed the formation of the new committee, whose primary
task is to produce by spring 2003 a list of recommendations
that, once implemented, will significantly improve the
quality of undergraduate education at Hopkins over the next
20 years. The 30-member group--including faculty, senior
staff, students, trustees and alumni--will likely address
such issues as better integration of the intellectual and
social life of undergraduates, advising and career support,
and the diversity of the undergraduate community.

Burger says efforts are under way to make the
transition of leadership as smooth as possible.

"In short, I hope to build on the foundation that Dr.
Kuncl has laid," Burger says. "Those of us who are in the
Provost's Office felt it was important that we lost no time,
and that we continue the forward momentum that has already
begun."

The commission reflects the interest of the president,
provost and deans in improving the experience for
undergraduates. The university's upcoming reaccreditation by
the Middle States Commission on Higher Education provides
the timely opportunity to engage in a serious review. The
evaluation, which occurs every 10 years, will take place in
2003; in the self-study portion of the process, Hopkins has
decided to focus on undergraduate education. Burger, in
conjunction with her role in CUE, also will chair the
reaccreditation steering committee.

Prior to coming to Hopkins in 1993, Burger held a
variety of administrative positions in academic and student
affairs at her alma mater, Duke University, to which she
returned after receiving a doctorate in political science
from Hopkins. As executive vice provost at Duke, she
provided leadership for academic planning and various
academic services, including undergraduate admissions and
financial aid. Earlier, as an academic dean, she had
responsibility for advising and curricular matters. She also
has directed college residential and co-curricular
programs.

Steven Knapp, provost and senior vice president for
academic affairs, says that Burger's experience makes her
the perfect person to take over the reins from Kuncl.

"Paula has the proven ability to lead this kind of
process, evidenced by her extraordinary work facilitating
the recommendations of the C21 report," says Knapp,
referring to the 1994 document of the Committee for the 21st
Century, which examined critically and imaginatively every
aspect of the university's organization and programs.

To date, the Commission on Undergraduate Education has
met three times to devise themes and goals.

"Now it's time to sit down and conduct a midcourse
debriefing," Burger says. "We need to be certain that we
have identified the most important issues, that we have the
right division of labor and that the process stimulates the
most creative thinking about recommendations that would
enhance undergraduate education here at Johns Hopkins."

Knapp said there will be some reorganization of the
Provost's Office in order for Burger to focus on her new
duties while continuing to coordinate and enhance the
university's international efforts.